STEHMAN PROPERTIES IN LANCASTER COUNTY
According to Davis, Joseph (Stoneman) Stehman was born in 1692. (1) However, he also shows Joseph born in 1685 (2) and 42 years old (born abt. 1675) when he arrives in Pennsylvania from Europe. (3)
Joseph is thought to have arrived in Philadelphia on one of three ships that landed on August 24, 1717. (4) Depending on which of the first three references you rely upon, the following children arrived with him:
Source #1
Source #2
Source #3
Mary b. 9/1/1714
Mary b. 1714
Anna age 17
Anna b. abt. 1716 John b. abt. 1715 Mary age 3
John abt. 1718 Anna b. abt 1716 Tobias?
Joseph b. abt. 1720 Joseph b. abt. 1717 Joseph?
Elizabeth b. abt. 1722 Elizabeth?
Fronica b. abt. 1725 Frances ?
Tobias b. abt. 1730 John ?
Peter ?
Peter?
Also shown as arriving with Joseph in source #3 is his wife. His brother, Christian, is apparently not shown arriving with him although he is thought to have come in the same year as Joseph. Two sources also show a sister emigrating to Pennsylvania with them. Boles shows her as "Susanna" and cites Shertz as the source. However, the Shertz research has her as "Barbara" and shows her marrying an (Unknown) Brubaker. No mention of her was found in the Brubaker genealogy.
Joseph settled a few miles from the village of Willow Street adjoining Breneman, Kendig, and Hess families. (5) In 1718 he has a grant of 100 acres near Conestoga. (6) He is shown taking out a warrant on land and being taxed on that land circa 1717/1718. His brother, Christian, also acquired property and was taxed thereon at the same time. Over the next thirty plus years the brothers were involved in numerous purchases and sales of property in Lancaster County as well as providing lands for their offspring. Some of Joseph's acquisitions, including lands given to his children, his brother's lands, and lands of his descendants are shown in Appendixes 1-3.
It is Joseph's son, Joseph Jr. who purchases 600 acres in Manor from Edward and Elizabeth Smout in 1751. (7) In 1751 he also purchased a mortgage held by Thomas White of Philadelphia against 400 acres of land located just back of the present town of Little Washington (now Washington Boro). Prior to this the land had belonged to the Indian trader, James Patterson. Geneva Gill indicates that the Patterson tract went to Joseph's son, John. Since John was not of age to take possession of the land prior to his father's death, Gill must be suggesting that he inherited the Patterson tract as he inherited the land purchased from Smout. (8) While Joseph Jr.'s plantations and tracts in Conestoga were divided among all five of his children, (9) apparently all of Joseph's land in Manor went to John.
The lands purchased by Joseph Jr. that were originally owned by Chartier and Patterson are in large part the land that later becomes Washington Boro. On the Patterson tract "many years ago an Indian Town was located on the fertile slope of the eastern shore of the Susquehanna river now occupied by Washington Boro, where they lived and cultivated their gardens in Indian manner." (10) This is known by the number of Indian graves found here. Earlier graves contain only Indian made relics but later ones contained articles of European origin. Joseph's son, John, inherited both the Chartier and Patterson tracts. Later these lands are passed on to John's children. These children include Jacob (Stehman) Staman who apparently is the owner of most/all of the Chartier tract when he dies in 1799. His brothers, Abraham and Samuel, are also located in the same area (brothers John and Joseph had settled in Cumberland County).
It is not known if Samuel Stehman owns land in Manor other than his 1791 purchase of 270 acres. It is assumed that Samuel's daughter, Frances, inherits when he dies. Jacob dies in 1799 and his land is divided among his daughters, Nancy and Elizabeth, and, son, John. (11) Another son, Jacob, gets 500 pounds only, no land. Jacob is the son of second wife, Barbara Bear. (12) Presumably, the land that Elizabeth inherited from her father, Jacob, is sold as she moves with her husband. Abraham dies in 1805 leaving two daughters, Susanna and Elizabeth. Christian Herr acquired some of Abraham's land when he married Susanna. He also bought the land Elizabeth inherited from Abraham in 1827. Christian and Susanna sell her original inheritance in 1832, Some or all of the rest of the land is conveyed by Christian and his second wife, Elizabeth Hart Herr, to his son, Abraham S. Herr (Susanna's son) in 1834.(13)
"On July 15, 1811, Jacob Dritt laid out a town 'on the east bank of the Susquehanna River near the Blue Rock, in Manor township, in Lancaster Co.' This town contained one hundred and twenty-two lots, to be disposed of by lottery, each ticket to draw a lot. This was the town of Woodstock of 1807 , and was now named Washington." (14) Washington was south of Lancaster Road and at least a part of it was the Patterson tract originally purchased by Joseph (Stoneman) Stehman in 1751.
Also, in 1811, Joseph Charles advertised lots for the town of Charleston being developed north of Lancaster Road on the western part of the Chartier tract. Charles "had bought the lower part of the tract upon which Charleston was built from John Stehman. (15) He had bought the upper part from John B. Haldeman, of Donegal, who had married a daughter of Stehman, the previous owner of that tract." (16) With this sale John Staman had sold part of his inheritance but kept the rest (the eastern part of the Chartier tract). He would continue to own this land until his death in 1827 at the age of 36, He is buried in the Wertz-Staman graveyard which was located about a mile east of Washington Boro on Lancaster Road, about the southeast corner of the Chartier tract. Upon his death he owned several properties including parcels of 70 and 184 acres in Manor, a 2 story frame house and five lots in Washington Boro. Sale of the property was to provide support for the children." (17) However, the sale of the property did not raise enough money to pay debts and additional sales were ordered. (18). It is presumed that the remainder of the Chartier tract was sold.
"The villages of Washington and Charleston were incorporated as the borough of Washington by act of Assembly, approved April 13, 1827." ( 19) After the death of John Staman in 1827 and the sale of many or all of his lands, only his son, Jacob, continues to live and farm in the Manor. His other son, John Peter, farms and stays in the area but censuses show him in West Hempfield township. However, "in the fall of 1873, Jacob Staman, of Washington borough, found in a single grave near his dwelling, Indian relics, consisting of an iron helmet, a skull, the principal bones of the legs and arms, a large iron axe, iron hoe, an iron instrument that might have been used for a sword , and a large clay pot, broken into a number of pieces." (20). The location of this find, called the Frey-Haverstick Site (36La6), is described as "situated on an old river terrace, it is bordered on the south by Staman's Run, a small creek which empties into the Susquehanna River." (21) It is unknown when or from whom Jacob Staman acquired this land but it is the property at the southwest corner of the Patterson tract. The relics were described as "found about twenty feet east of the present Hiestand-Frey dwelling" (22). The Hiestand-Frey dwelling was built on this property by John B. Staman, Jacob's son, about 1900. (23) It is presumed that it was built on or near the site of the old dwelling. A 1864 map of Washington Boro shows J. Staman's sawmill at that site and an 1875 map shows structures on the site although the ownership of the structures is not identified. It is presumed that one is a dwelling and that Jacob Staman and his family lived on the site.
1. Davis, Richard Warren, Emigrants, Refugees and Prisoners (Vol. 2, pg. 390).
2. Davis, Richard Warren, Emigrants, Refugees and Prisoners (Vol. 1, pg. 43).
3. Davis, Richard Warren, "Swiss and German Mennonite Immigrants From the Palatinate, 1704-1717." Mennonite Family History (Vol. XIII, No. 1, pg. 16).
4. Ibid. Note, however, Daniel Rupp lists him as living in Lancaster County in 1712. Since he was not included in Lancaster's previous listing in 1709, Rupp assumed that he arrived after 1709 and before 1712.
5. Stehman/Haldeman Research, pg. 2 - includes research on the Stehman family by Horace L. Haldeman, a letter from John M. Stehman to Samuel Evans re the Stehman family, and extracts from research done by Samuel Evans.
6. Eshleman, H. Frank, Swiss and German Pioneer Settlers (pg. 206).
7. Deed NN-85, August 20, 1791.
8. Ibid.
9. Miscellaneous Book, 1768-72 (June 6, 1770, pg. 196).
10. "The Indian Town Site At Washington Boro, " published in the Journal of Lancaster County Historical Society (Vol. 29, beginning pg. 101)
11. Will G-1-575
12. In 1807 Barbara marries Christian Breneman. They live in Columbia. After her son, Jacob comes of age (circa 1820) he settles in southwest Ohio. He spells his surname, "Stayman."
13. Deed Book E, (Vol. 6, pgs. 73-77).
14. Franklin Ellis and Samuel Evans, History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Everts and Peck, Philadelphia, 1883 (pg.654).
15. Ibid., (pg. 655). This was part of the land John had inherited from his father, Jacob. Also, the spelling of the surname should be "Staman."
16. Ibid. Again, the Stehman noted is Jacob Stehman/Staman and it is his daughter, Ann (Nancy) who is married to Haldeman. At least part of the land sold to Charles is that which she inherited.
17. Miscellaneous Book 1828-1833 (November 22, 1828, pg. 67).
18. Miscellaneous Book 1828-1833 (May, 1830).
19. Op. Cit., Ellis and Evans, (pg. 655).
20. Egle, W. H., History of Pennsylvania (pg. 818). In a nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places Inventory he is identified as John Stehman and in the article "The Indian Town Site At Washington Boro, " published in the Journal of Lancaster County Historical Society (Vol. 29, beginning pg. 101) he is identified as John B. Staman. John B. Staman is Jacob's son and he may have been present when Jacob found the Indian relics, etc. but it would not have been his land in 1873. After John B. marries, he is found in Chester County in 1880 and probably returns to his father's house when his father becomes infirm or dies. It is after he returns that his son, James (b. 1891), is credited with finding a French silver coin.
21. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. Prepared by Ira Beckerman (1980). https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/ce_imagery/phmc_scans/H083518_01H.pdf
Current address of the Frey-Haverstick site may be 1969 Pennsylvania 441, Washington
Boro, PA 17582 (from Google Earth).
22. "The Indian Town Site At Washington Boro, " published in the Journal of Lancaster County Historical Society (Vol. 29, beginning pg. 101).
23. In a letter dated January 7, 1901, Josephine (Jacob's daughter) writes to a friend,
". . . visited sister Martha for a few days had a pleasant time Enclosed you will find $2.00 one from Martha the other from me hope it will be of some help to you. Would like to have helped you more but we have quite a debt yet on our new house which one want to pay as soon as possible." Martha was another of Jacob's daughters.
24. Gill, Geneva, "Genealogical Theory and Notes" (Theory 2). See Appendix 1.
25. Misc. Bk. 1768-1772 (March 6, 1770, pg. 168). See Appendix 1.
26. Archaelogica.com (http://archaeologica.boardbot.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3286):
The pioneer Indian traders in the territory now embraced in this county [Lancaster] were Canadian Frenchmen, who first located along the Schuylkill and Brandywine. One of the most noted of them, Martin Chartiere, married an Indian squaw. When the Shawanese came from the South and settled at Pequea Creek, he moved there and made his permanent residence among them. He spoke the Delaware language fluently, and acquired great influence with these Indians. The Chief James Logan was anxious to be upon good terms with him, and took especial pains to cultivate his friendship. The loan commissioners, who were the Penns' agents for the sale of their lands, gave him a large tract, extending from the mouth of Conestoga Creek several miles up the Susquehanna River. He built his trading-post, and finally settled upon the farm afterwards owned by the Stehmans, at or near where they built a saw-mill in Washington borough. His trading post and home for many years adjoined the farm afterwards owned by James Patterson, the Indian trader, and also the Susquehanna Indian town, three miles below the Columbia.
"Colonialist scholars tell us that it was not particularly uncommon at that time to find a white man disaffected with his own society living with an Indian tribe. What was rare, however, was to find a white man leading an Indian tribe and this is precisely what both Martin Chartier and his son Peter did. The Shawnees that Martin Chartier met on the Mississippi River had been drawn there by the great French explorer, LaSalle. In 1692, Martin Chartier led a group of these Indians north to Maryland, settling at a place known as Old Town. Several years later, they moved to the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, an area then under the official dominion of the Iroquois Indians. They then asked a local tribe, the Conestoga, to take them under their protection. In 1701, both the Conestoga and the Shawnee appeared before William Penn and received formal permission for this arrangement. He died in April, 1718, master of a huge trading house and plantation on the Susquehanna River. He might have had several children, but only one son, Peter Chartier, handled the estate." He left all his property to Peter , who married a Shawanese squaw." James Logan was at his funeral, which shows that he was held in high esteem by the
Penns."
APPENDIX 1
Property Transactions of Joseph (Stoneman) Stehman in Lancaster County
-Purchases 200 acres of Francis Worley's land on
LCHS Journal, Vol. 25, pg. 13
November 2, 1727
Deed P-155, March 10, 1748
-Purchased large tracts of land in Conestoga
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 5
Township near mouth of the Pequea (Creek)
about 1730.
-Purchases 90 acres from Joseph Swift along
Geneva Gill (24)
Pequea Creek at or near Colemanville in 1731
-1732 - rode with Captain Thomas Cresap to
Geneva Gill
Annapolis (Baltimore?) to take out a Maryland
warrant for several hundred acres along the
Susquehanna River.
-Land at Burkholder's Ferry bought under a
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 6
Maryland patent about 1732.
-Bought 300 acres of land near the mouth of
Geneva Gill
Pequea Creek in the vicinity of Colemanville
from Abraham Burkholder and his wife, Barbara,
on June 5, 1735
-Acquires the Hawksbill Patent of 1300 acres in
Luray, Virginia from Francis Thorton on Nov.
24, 1737
-Sold 132 acres of the Burkholder purchase to
Geneva Gill
John Wissler in 1741.
-Purchased lands from Caleb and Martha Baker on
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 10
April 17, 1742.
-Sold (with his wife, Francis) 151 acres to John Cagey
Deed B-421, Dec. 17, 1745
of Lancaster Co. This land was part of a larger tract of
250 acres purchased from Caleb Baker.
-Over the years Joseph provided a "plantation" for each of
Geneva Gill
his sons and sons-in-law. Also, his son, John, inherited
property upon his Joseph's death:
-Gave balance of the Burkholder purchase to his
Geneva Gill
son, Joseph, Jr.
-900 acres of the Hawksbill Patent to Peter Ruffner
Betty Gaeng
(Maria's husband) on October 26, 1943. The
remaining 400 acres may have been previously
sold to Samuel Boehm and Henry Crum (200 acres
each).
-Land from Worley to son-in-law, Benedict
LCHS Journal, vol. 25, pg. 13
Eshleman (Anna's husband) in 1743/44
-Tobias, his son, had been given land at
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 5
Long Lane by Joseph.
-An unnamed son of Joseph had been given land
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 5
in Conestoga, near Pequea.
-John, his son, had been given/sold part of the land
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 10
that Joseph had purchased from the Bakers.
-Purchased several hundred acres of land in Manor
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 5
Township in 1748 where he moved with his son,
John (however, Evans identifies this Joseph as
"Steman" and it is Joseph Jr. who is "Steman").
-Died in 1756 in Manheim. His son, John, received
his father's plantation in Manheim Township by will.
-Joseph Jr.had owned three plantations in Conestoga
Miscellaneous Book 1768-72,
Township - 250, 200 and 150 acres, at the time of his
pg. 168, March 6, 1770
the time of his death in 1758. In 1770 it is Joseph Jr.'s
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 12
Christian who petitions for an appraisal of his father's estate
of 250, 200, and 150 acres. (25)
APPENDIX 2
Property transactions of Christian (Stoneman) Stehman
-Warrant for 100 acres to Christian Stone or Steman
Swiss and German Pioneer Settlers,
near Conestoga
H. Frank Eshleman
-Taxed at Conestoga 1718-24
-Settled on the Little Conestoga in 1728 where the
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 2
Columbia Turnpike crosses-50 acres with grist, corn
and saw mills.
-Stehman - builder of mill on Little Conestoga Creek
LCHS Journal, Vol. 42, pg. 38
at Maple Grove
-Bought 150 acres on the Little Conestoga from
Ellis and Evans, pg. 868
Hans and Anna Brubaker May 13, 1729.
-Bought 150 acres in Conestoga from Michael Baughman
December 27, 1740.
-Land deeded for a Mennonite meeting house and burial
Deed A-196, Dec. 17, 1745
place. This land was part of the 150 acres bought from
Hans Brubaker in 1729.
-Died in Hempfield Township.
-Christian Hershey married to Christian Stoneman's
LCHS Journal, Vol. 42, pg. 38
daughter, Maria, who inherited land from her father's
estate in the 1500-acre Hamilton tract.
-Christian, eldest son of Christian, late of Hempfield,
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 12
163 acres in Manor.
APPENDIX 3
Property transactions by descendants of Joseph (Stoneman) Stehman
-Joseph Stehman Jr. purchased 600 hundred acres in
Deed AA-513, Oct. 31, 1781
Manor from Edward and Elizabeth Smoot. This land
Deed NN-85, Aug. 20, 1791
was the west half of the Martin Chartier tract. (26)
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 10
-In 1751 Joseph Stehman Jr. purchased a mortgage
Geneva Gill
held by Thomas White of Philadelphia against 400
acres of land located just back of the present
town of Little Washington (prior to this the land
had belonged to the Indian trader, James Patterson).
This purchase went to his son, John. (26)
-Tobias, his son, bought 150 acres in 1755 from Jacob
Ellis and Evans, pg. 951
Miller along the line of the northern line of Manor.
Gill has that the land was adjacent to that of his father,
Joseph (Stoneman) Stehman Sr. This land sold to
Christian Kauffman in 1758. Gill also indicates that
Tobias bought a total of 400 acres in Manor (all sold to
Kauffman).
-Joseph Jr.'s son, John, also inherited 400 acres of the
LCHS Journal, Vol. 42, pg. 38
land bought from Smoot, most of it being the original
Chartier Plantation.
-In 1781 Joseph Jr.'s son, John, sells 4+ acres to John
Deed AA-513, Oct. 31, 1781
Stouffer. This land was originally part of the Chartier
tract purchased by Joseph Jr. from Edward Smoot.
-John Steman of Conestoga (grandson of Joseph
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 15
and son of John) and John Miller bought 222 acres of
land from Christian Brubaker in 1773, situated in
Hempfield Township (now East Hempfield). In 1782
Miller sold his share to Steman.
-The husband of Elizabeth (granddaughter of Joseph and
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 10
daughter of John), Benedict Eshleman, received 100 acres
of land from her father.
-Henry of Conestoga (grandson of Joseph and son of
Stehman/Haldeman, pg. 14
John) and his wife, Feronica, convey land received by
Henry from his brother, John, in November, 1784, to
Benedict Eshleman (husband of Henry's sister, Elizabeth).
-Stehmans own 725 acres in Conestoga Township in
LCHS Journal, Vol. 25, pg. 13
1780. Sixth and seventh generations of Stehmans own
five farms along the Old Road and within the borders of
ancient Conestoga Township (primarily descended from
Joseph Sr. through Tobias).